“… and freedom. Never forget where it all came from. it came from sacrifice, the supreme sacrifice; don’t waste it. Don't waste any of your time on this earth. Live a life that honors the sacrifice of our fallen heroes. Remember them always, and make every day memorial day.”
Spoken by Jocko Willink on Jocko Podcast

He didn’t fall. He survived. A burning cigarette supplanted the pencil in his writing hand. He watched teachers scribble on chalkboards for another year, while knowing his education was over. No amount of arithmetic and essays could compare to the education he received during his previous year abroad. While he was in foreign land, and his peers took those notes from the chalkboard and drank sodas at his family’s candy kitchen, he marched for days through snow and ice. Then he dug trenches in that snow and sat in that frozen soil as bombs, bullets and grenades soared through the air. One bullet ripped trough his jacket, but mercifully it pierced only leather and left his flesh unharmed. In those snow-capped trenches, bed sheets weren't used for sleeping, instead, white bedsheets were camouflage to deceive the enemy. He was fortunate, but he was also courageous and loyal. And, he sacrificed it all; his life, his education and his promises to his family back home in Iowa. The sacrifice was an honorable commitment to defending freedom. So he marched on with his infantry through Belgium. Freedom was at risk by sinister world domination, so he and infantry marched on the path towards liberation. More bombs, more bullets challenged his safety but none ever ripped through his skin. He survived. The infantry moved through Europe. They earned a reputation for releasing thousands, upon thousands of people from the evil/rigid oppressors. The "Liberating Unit” and my grandfather went home in the Spring ’45. A few years ago my grandfather was laid to rest, and the first conversation my family and I had about him was his service. He committed to ultimate the sacrifice so his children and their children could relish in the treasures that this country has to offer.

Remember.

… And Freedom